KAMPALA, Uganda — Uganda has opened talks with Kenya over the plight of Ugandan traders affected by President William Ruto’s directive targeting foreigners operating small-scale businesses and informal trade.
Ugandan officials said Tuesday, September 8, 2026, that many of the affected traders had applied for work permits and trading licences but were still waiting for approval.
Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the President said Uganda was using diplomatic channels to establish how many Ugandans in Kenya had applied for the required permits and licences, how many applications remained pending and how many had not yet regularised their status.
Ambassador Aisha Ismail from the Office of the President said several Ugandans had complained that they repeatedly applied for the necessary documents without receiving approvals.
“We have heard complaints from our diaspora in Kenya who have consistently applied for working permits and trading licences but the Kenyan government was not providing them,” Ismail said.
She said Uganda was engaging Kenya to resolve the situation affecting traders whose applications were already pending.
“While we are in the process of negotiating for the approval for those who have already applied, we are working with the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our mission in Kenya to see how we can engage the Kenyan government and see how to resolve this because many of our citizens have their applications pending,” she said.
Uganda asks affected traders to report
The Ugandan government has asked affected citizens to report to the Ugandan High Commission in Nairobi to help authorities establish the scale of the problem.
“We want to evaluate how many applied, how many are pending approval and how many have not applied yet and how we can help them,” Ismail said.
The intervention follows growing uncertainty among foreign traders after Ruto, on September 2, directed authorities to take action against foreigners engaged in hawking and small-scale retail businesses.
The President said such activities should primarily be reserved for Kenyan citizens, arguing that foreign investment should create jobs and expand production rather than compete with Kenyans in small shops and informal trade.
The directive triggered anxiety among foreign traders in Nairobi and other parts of Kenya, with reports of businesses closing and some traders seeking travel documents or preparing to leave the country.
Ugandan traders were among those reported to have crossed back into Uganda through the Busia border after receiving threats against themselves or their businesses.
Daily Monitor reported Tuesday that foreign traders had arrived at the border carrying personal belongings and documents as uncertainty continued over the implementation of the directive.
Reports also indicated that at least 20 foreign-owned businesses in parts of Nairobi had closed amid concerns over the safety of their owners, while hundreds of Burundians reportedly sought travel documents at their embassy to return home.
Kenya clarifies foreign trader directive
Kenyan authorities have since moved to clarify that the directive does not amount to a blanket expulsion of foreign nationals.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei said foreigners holding valid work permits, business licences and other required documentation remained legally entitled to operate in Kenya.
The Kenyan government has also warned citizens against harassing, intimidating or targeting foreign nationals or their businesses.
On Tuesday, State House announced a 90-day regularisation period for foreign nationals conducting businesses in Kenya.
During the period, affected traders will have an opportunity to regularise their immigration status, work permits, business registration and licensing requirements before stricter enforcement begins.
The government said the exercise would be coordinated by relevant agencies in consultation with foreign embassies and would be conducted fairly and without discrimination.
The development has provided a diplomatic avenue for Ugandan traders whose applications for permits or licences are still pending to seek clarification and regularise their status.
Uganda plans to bring home 800 more citizens from South Africa
At the same press conference, Presidential Advisor on Diaspora Affairs Abbey Walusimbi said Uganda was preparing another operation to repatriate citizens stranded in South Africa.
“We are concerned about the plight of Ugandans still stranded in South Africa. That is why the President put together planes to bring some home. In November we are going to bring home 800 more,” Walusimbi said.
Uganda began evacuating citizens from South Africa earlier this year following anti-immigrant protests and attacks targeting foreign nationals.
By July 7, the government said it had repatriated 880 Ugandans, with another 250 expected to return shortly afterwards.
Also Read: Ruto’s ‘borderless Africa’ vision faces test as Burundians leave Kenya
The evacuation followed reports of violence in which several foreign nationals, including Ugandans, were killed.
President Yoweri Museveni directed the government to meet the cost of voluntary evacuations, while Uganda’s diplomatic mission in South Africa assisted citizens in obtaining emergency travel documents.
More than 1,000 Ugandans had registered for evacuation by the end of June, according to the government.
Uganda used chartered flights to transport groups of returnees to Entebbe International Airport, including 424 citizens evacuated during the initial stages of the operation.
The latest diplomatic engagement with Kenya comes as Uganda seeks to protect its citizens working and doing business across the region while balancing their interests with host-country immigration, licensing and employment laws.
